Division of the Land of Canaan

Biblical Text and Content

The principles governing the division first appear in Numbers. The land was to be divided by lot, with a larger inheritance given to the larger tribes and a smaller one to the smaller tribes (Numbers 26:52-56). Moses gave the land east of the Jordan River to the tribes of Reuben and Gad and to the half-tribe of Manasseh (Numbers 32). The boundaries of the land and the leaders responsible for dividing it were then designated (Numbers 34), as were the cities of the Levites and the cities of refuge (Numbers 35).

The actual division is recorded in Joshua 13–21.

• Chapter 13: The portions of the tribes east of the Jordan are restated.
• Chapter 14: Eleazar the priest, Joshua, and the heads of the tribes divide the land by lot. Caleb receives Hebron as he had been promised.
• Chapters 15–17: Judah, Ephraim, and Manasseh receive their portions. This section also includes the account of the daughters of Zelophehad receiving their father's portion (Joshua 17:3-6; cf. Numbers 27).
• Chapters 18–19: After the tabernacle of the congregation is set up at Shiloh, the land is surveyed for the seven remaining tribes, divided into seven parts, and assigned by lot. Simeon's portion lay within the territory of the tribe of Judah. Finally, Joshua himself receives Timnath-serah.
• Chapters 20–21: Six cities of refuge and forty-eight Levitical cities are designated.

Background

Because the tribe of Joseph was divided into Ephraim and Manasseh, twelve tribes received land even though Levi received no territory (twelve tribes of Israel). The Levites were given no land because "the LORD God of Israel was their inheritance" (Joshua 13:33; cf. Numbers 18:20). The Hebrew term used for the land, nachalah, denotes a portion handed down from generation to generation, that is, an "inheritance"; cheleq is rendered "portion," and goral "lot." The Law states that the land could not be sold in perpetuity because God is its owner (Leviticus 25:23), and it provided that in the Year of Jubilee land would return to its original family. Scholars differ on the actual process and chronology of the conquest and settlement.

Significance Across Scripture

The division of the land is presented as the fulfillment of the land promised in the Abrahamic covenant (Joshua 21:43-45). However, Judges 1 records that several tribes failed to drive out all the Canaanites. Ezekiel 47–48 presents, in a vision, a new division of the land for a restored Israel. In the New Testament, Acts 13:19 recalls this event as God's giving the land as an inheritance. Hebrews 4:8 indicates that the rest Joshua gave was not the final rest, and the New Testament epistles describe the believer's "inheritance" as one reserved in heaven (Colossians 1:12; 1 Peter 1:4).

Interpretation and Issues

• On how the principle of casting lots and the principle of proportion to population were applied together, a common explanation is that the lot determined a tribe's location while the size of its territory was adjusted according to population. The text, however, does not describe the method in detail.
• Dispensationalism tends to hold that the land promise remains valid for ethnic Israel in the future. Covenant theology tends to hold that the promise is fulfilled in Christ and the church and in the new heavens and the new earth.
• Two lines of interpretation have both been handed down: one reads Canaan as a shadow of heaven, and the other reads it as the rest of faith enjoyed in this life.

In Korean Churches

In Korean Protestant preaching, the scene of Caleb asking for Hebron (Joshua 14) is frequently used as a text on the challenge of faith. The verse stating that God is the Levites' inheritance is cited as an exhortation to consecration. The Korean words for "portion" (bungit) and "inheritance" (gieop) also derive from this passage and are widely used in prayer and preaching.